The rare Arne Slot trait that could decide Liverpool’s title charge | OneFootball

The business end of a season isn’t always the point to parade your principles. Arne Slot has attacking ideals, but a fondness for winning can override idealism. “Sometimes as a manager you have to be pragmatic as well and understand it is maybe not our game in terms of football, [so] then we as a coaching staff have to be ready to make decisions that help the team in those moments,” he rationalised. He was talking, in particular, about the moment he brought on Wataru Endo for Luis Diaz to help Liverpool see out victory over Wolves.

Slot isn’t as wedded to a system as some of his peers but he has tended to have at least three specialist forwards on the pitch. Until, for the last 25 minutes on Sunday, as Endo slotted into the midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai manned the left flank. The Hungarian’s formidable running power was used, Slot said, to “neutralise”.

That might seem Endo’s role, too. It was his 11th appearance in the Premier League this season and the third longest: but as the other two came when Liverpool had already scored four goals in each match, the most significant. The sense is that Slot likes Endo personally and respects his professionalism but does not think he fits his preferred style of play. Nevertheless, despite Ryan Gravenberch’s reinvention, he is the only long-time defensive midfielder in the squad. His surname could have a significance: Endo might be Liverpool’s designated closer, to borrow a term from baseball, to see out games, to see out a title challenge.

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Arne Slot’s pragmatism is a huge boon for Liverpool in the title race (Liverpool FC/Getty)

The defining theme of Slot’s management at Anfield has not been a 4-2-3-1 formation or even the similarities and differences with Jurgen Klopp’s tactics. It has been excellent decision-making, which made his meltdown on the Goodison Park pitch on Wednesday even more incongruous.

Two substitutions on Sunday were revealing. He removed Ibrahima Konate at the interval: on a booking, the Frenchman had committed a further foul. “He would have been sent off for two soft yellows,” argued his manager. His intervention may have spared the centre-back a ban for Wednesday’s trip to Aston Villa. His replacement, Jarell Quansah, capped his renaissance after being the first man taken off in Slot’s reign – his half-time departure at Ipswich in August an early sign the head coach could be ruthless but right in his choices – by helping in a rearguard action.

Six months on, Slot said: “You saw how vital players like Jarell and Wata are for this season.” It may have been a tale of four fringe figures. Two unused substitutes were Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott, who conspicuously failed to take their chance in the FA Cup defeat at Plymouth. Defending a 2-0 and then a 2-1 lead may have called for neither, but Endo and Quansah seem to have earned Slot’s trust.

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Wataru Endo was crucial in helping Liverpool see out victory over Wolves (Reuters)

Liverpool’s squad looked slimmer against Wolves: without Cody Gakpo, whose injury makes him a doubt for the Villa game, without Curtis Jones, suspended after his loss of temper at Goodison Park. It came after the final whistle but the danger was that Liverpool were punished in his absence. Slot often references Andy Robertson’s first-half red card against Fulham as a warning of the problems of going down to 10 men.

He is aware that things could go wrong, even for a team with a seven-point lead. He noted the significance of holding on to a lead against Wolves – “We showed immense mentality in the most difficult circumstances” – in the wake of Wednesday’s draw at Everton, when they led until the 98th minute. The margins can be narrow. Results have to be ground out.

And while Liverpool could have a 10-point lead by Wednesday night, February is starting to look the biggest obstacle course on their route to glory. Trips to Everton and Villa were rearranged; a visit to Manchester City was always scheduled. Get through that and then seven of their remaining 11 games are at home; none of their last four away days are at the current top five.

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If Liverpool can navigate the rest of a tricky February, they could be set for the Premier League title (Getty)

The nerves around Anfield were an indication of the stakes. Slot’s usually measured style of management has made this season less dramatic than last. But if the pressure affected him on Wednesday, the crowd felt it on Sunday. “Get a grip on... well, it is easier to say than actually do,” said Virgil van Dijk. “We are all human beings and I totally understand anxiety or nervousness can kick in but we have to just keep going. We just have to buckle up, enjoy the ride. There will be a lot of twists and turns. If you're not ready for it – and we have been there already – it will be a difficult couple of months for you.”

Two wins could make it a relatively easy couple of months. That, once again, is easier said than done. Especially for a side with just four clean sheets in 12 league games, who have dropped six points from winning positions because of late equalisers. It gave an added significance to injury time against Wolves, to the scoreline that didn’t change.

“Every situation, especially in the last couple of minutes of a game, you are going to try everything to not concede,” said Van Dijk. For the captain, like the manager, it is a time for pragmatism.